Multi-pin electrical connectors are often used to provide a large number of reliable connections in the electrical coupling of printed circuit boards within an instrument or in the coupling of various instruments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,673 to Evans et al. teaches a connector having right-angle wires which are secured at one end to a printed circuit board and which slidably receive contact elements of an opposite gender at an end opposite the printed circuit board.
In the design of computers and computer peripherals, as well as other types of instruments, the design of smaller components has become important. Consequently, elements such as electrical connectors have undergone dramatic changes in size. An example is the original Type D connector which has largely been replaced by a miniature Type D, with subminiature Type D connectors increasingly replacing the miniature Type D connectors. However, the mounting of even a subminiature connector requires a significant portion of the space of a given-sized printed circuit board, since the contact elements are arranged in staggered rows of standard spacing and since the connector must include ears for receiving mounting screws or other fastening means. Rows of contact elements must be spaced sufficiently apart on a circuit board to insure against shorting among contact elements during soldering.
Commonly, a printed circuit board is required to communicate with more than one outside instrument. Mounting of each succeeding electrical connector to a circuit board further limits the possible size reduction of the circuit board, as well as the design freedom in the mounting of various signals on the circuit board. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,116 to Bailey et al. teaches a piggyback array of single-orifice phone jack housings, but such an array is much more difficult for receptacles, such as the miniature Type D connectors, which receive a multi-pin element. The multi-pin receptacles typically include mounting holes on opposed sides of a receptacle face configured to slidably receive a plug having staggered rows of contact elements enclosed within the housing. The plug includes ears having bores which are aligned with the mounting holes of the receptacles so that fastening hardware can be used to mechanically lock the plug to the receptacle. Because of the size and the mass of the plugs involved, board space reduction in the mounting of a plurality of multi-pin receptacles, such as Type D connectors includes considerations which are otherwise be relevant in the electrical coupling of devices.
An object of the present invention is to provide a component which minimizes the circuit board space required for mounting of a plurality of multi-contact connectors, with the emphasis on ease of manufacture and use.